Paddy rice production in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) shot up from 3.2% per year before the region’s rice crisis (2000–2007) to 8.4% per year after the rice crisis (2007–2012), according to an analysis by a leading African rice research organization.
The analysis also showed that the average rice yield in the region rose by about 30% from 2007 to 2012 and that it is increasing at a faster rate than the global average, according to the Africa Rice Center (AfricaRice).
“This is very encouraging news,” AfricaRice Director General Dr. Papa Seck said. “The surge in SSA’s rice production and yield is a result of key investments made by farmers, governments, the private sector, the research community and donors to develop Africa’s rice sector.”
Rice consumption continues to increase in SSA at an annual rate of 5%, Seck said.
Paddy rice production in SSA increased by 2.8 million tonnes from 2000 to 2007, and then accelerated, increasing by 4.7 million tonnes from 2007 to 2012, said AfricaRice Deputy Director General Dr. Marco Wopereis.
“But what’s more important, the analysis revealed that average rice yield in SSA increased by about 11 kg per ha per year from 1961 to 2007 and by a spectacular 108 kg per ha per year from 2007 to 2012, despite drought and floods in several African countries in 2011 and 2012,” he added.
High rice prices in late 2007 and 2008 sparked food riots in several African cities. The resulting rice crisis prompted African governments, assisted by the international donor community, to launch programs in an effort to boost their rice production capacity.
Wopereis added that 71% of the increase in paddy rice production in the region can be attributed to yield increase, and the remaining 29% to area expansion. Before the rice crisis, only 24% of the production increase could be explained by increases in yield and 76% to expanded harvested area.
“This is evidence of increased use of technological innovation, such as improved varieties and improved crop management in general.”
The Africa Rice Center said it analyzed trends in rice production across the African continent, placing particular emphasis on the periods before and after the 2007/2008 rice crisis. All data were retrieved from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) (www.fas.usda.gov/psdonline/psdQuery.aspx).
AfricaRice is one of the 15 international agricultural research Centers that are members of the CGIAR Consortium. It is also an intergovernmental association of African member countries.